1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fishing vessel device for managing a crab pot and the like. More specifically, the present invention relates to a fishing vessel device such that a portion of the device can be rotated about a pivot point thus lowering the overall height of the fishing vessel, and such that the device will recover from and then return to the water a crab pot, to include the associated pot rope and pot buoy.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many fishermen in the crabbing profession do not use any known mechanical line hauling devices aboard their fishing vessels. Line hauling devices that are used consist of gunnel mounted electrical, or hydraulic, friction reels.
For other line hauling devices there is the "Crab Pot Line Hauler" of Svendsen U.S. Pat. No. 4,354,667, the "Oyster Dredging Apparatus" of Hebert U.S. Pat. No. 4,209,920, the "Lobster Trap Davit" of Anderson U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,655, the "Apparatus For Catching Fish" of Bolitho U.S. Pat. No. 827,076, the "Tackles" of Pendola U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,301, and the "Hydraulic Crane and Bucket Control" of Walker U.S. Pat. No. 3,523,614.
The device of Walker U.S. Pat. No. 3,523,614, shows three conventional pulleys in a coplanar relationship such that hydraulically displacing the central pulley will open and close a crane bucket.
No device is known, however, that can be rotated to lower the overall height of a fishing vessel and that will recover a crab pot from the water, suspend the crab pot from an overhead traveling open faced pulley assembly such that the crab pot can be conveniently serviced, prevent entanglement of the hauling line, and simultaneously drop the crab pot, pot hauling line, and buoy into the water.